Original Research Wiki
Welcome to the Original Research Wiki Original Research is the unoriginal anti-wiki, dedicated to subverting the intellectual elitism of most other wikis. Here at Original Research, no citations are needed, and all perspectives are welcome. Ain't no higher education than this lovely little sewer waystation! What is Original Research? Short story: Original Research is a open journal for both professionals and non-professionals alike. Sources to back up your statements are certainly welcome, but not necessary. All I ask for is an open mind. Or not; this wiki also welcomes the most divergent of opinions, as long is it doesn't violate too many of the Wikia terms of use. You may edit most pages semi-anonymously, except this front page, or create a Wiki account and have your page protected from editing. The Original Research Wiki is meant to reflect the knowledge of those who visit here. Hell, you can even just write an article about yourself! Long story: According to Wikipedia, original research is defined as material-- such as facts, allegations, and ideas-- for which no reliable published sources exist. This includes any analysis or synthesis of published material that serves to reach or imply a conclusion not stated by the sources. On the Original Research Wiki, YOU are the primary source. What is a "reliable" or "published" source? Again, according to Wikipedia, a "published" source is made available to the public in some form. So technically, this wiki is a published source. Anything you post online is made available to the public. But a "reliable" source will have a "professional structure" in place for checking or analyzing facts, legal issues, evidence, and arguments. The greater degree of scrutiny given these issues, the more reliable the source. Of course, the "most reliable" sources are "academic and peer-reviewed" or "respected mainstream" publications. What is a professional? In its widest usage, a professional is any paid practitioner of a specified activity. By this definition, if you are paid for doing something specific, you are a professional. Unfortunately, this definition is not commonly used. I am not a professional scavenger no matter how much I'm paid for selling scrap. In the narrowest and most common usage, a professional is someone who has received "specialized educational training" from a government-regulated university or training school. Skilled manual labor, such as carpentry or plumbing, is not considered professional work. Even if you have a college degree, you might not be considered "professional" enough to publish a "reliable" source of information. Following this narrow definition, there are less than 650 million professionals in a human population of almost 8 billion. That may sound like a lot, but is less than 9% of the population. More specifically: Physicians = Less than 1% Surgeons = Way less than 1% Pharmacists = Again, way less than 1% Nurses = Less than 1% Dentists = Less than 1% Optometrists = Less than 1%? Veterinarians = Less than 1% Psychologists = Way less than 1% Lawyers = Less than 1% Accountants = Less than 1% Architects = Less than 1% Engineers = Less than 1% Professional journalists, those hired by the "mainstream" publications, make up way less than 1% of the population. Less than 1% of people are legally qualified politicians. And of course, less than 1% of the world population is an "academic" who is certified to teach these professionals. Over 50% of people don't even have a college education. In comparison, about 2 billion people work as farmers. That is slightly over 25% of the population. At least 2% of people worldwide are retail workers, 2% are construction workers, 1% are prostitutes, and 1% are maids. I say "at least" because both employment and unemployment are widely unreported, especially amongst that 90% "unprofessional" population; unreported employment may be 50% to 75% of the economy. Yet according to the quality standards of Wikipedia, less than 10% of the population is a reliable source of information. Even on the subject of farming....? What are academic, peer-reviewed, and/or respected mainstream publications? Academic publications are the "original research" of that tiny professional population. Peer-review is the evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence in that field; in the case of "academic" publications, only the specially certified 1%-10% of the population have any input, no matter how thoroughly self-taught the layman may be. The bought-and-paid educational indoctrination means everything. But as college enrollment begins to decline, more people are teaching themselves from a variety of different sources. And more people are losing trust and respect for these exclusive authorities. According to Wikipedia, mainstream publications refer to the news and research reported by large media conglomerates. This includes Bertelsmann, Hearst, Disney, Comcast, National Amusement, News Corporation, AT&T, Verizon, SoftBank, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Apple, Sony, and Samsung. If any of these names sound unfamiliar, this is because we know them by other names, like Fox, CNN, Google, or Springer. Many are "competing" companies owned by the exact same people. We all use their intellectual property without much choice, but their professional employees are yet another tiny percent of the population. The Original Research Wiki is for the other 90%. If you can find it on Google, of course. Latest activity Photos and videos are a great way to add visuals to your wiki. Add one below! Category:Browse